Rail bond



June 21, 1938. J. STATZ 2,121,769

RAIL BOND Filed Jan. 21, 1935 lnvenfar:

Patented June 21, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAIL BOND John Statz, Worcester, Mass, assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company oil New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 21, 1935, Serial No. 2,820

' 3 Claims. (01. 173-283) This invention relates in general to terminals, and particularly to rail bonds of the type having terminals adapted for connection to railroad rails in which depressions are formed for this purpose.

One of the objects is to provide a rail bond of the above type that is structurally sound in that its conductor strand is butt-welded to its terminals, yet which may be applied to these rails by means of these depressions through the medium of conventional devices such as are now used by railroads for this purpose. Other objects may be inferred;

Specific examples of rail bonds embodying the features of the present invention are illustrated by the accompanying drawing, Figures 1 and 2 being side views of these examples ready for application to the head of a railroad rail in which a depression is formed.

More specifically, Figure 1 shows a rail bond including the combination of a conductor I and a steel terminal butt-welded to this conductor I, the terminal having a head 2 and a cylindrical steel stud 3 projecting integrally from the head 2 and having a cylindrical end 4 of reduced diameter arranged concentrically respecting its remainder and being integral therewith.

Figure 2 shows a rail bond including the combination of a conductor 5 and a steel terminal butt-welded to this conductor 5, this terminal having ahead 6 anda cylindrical'steel stud I projecting integrally from the head 6 and having a ball-like end 8 of the same lateral diameter and which integrally connects therewith through a. neck 9 of reduced diameter.

flares smoothly in both directions, as at Ill to so connect the end 8 with the rest of the stud I, and is integral with each. 7

Both of the bonds are intended for application to the head ll of a railroad rail in which a relatively shallow depression I! is formed. This depression may have sides which are roughened by variously shaped markings. In both instances the studs are of a length greater than the depth of this depression 12.

To eflfect the installation of these bonds, the stud of whichever one is being used is inserted in the depression 12 and force is applied to the head of the terminal at a point opposite this stud so as to force the same into the depression 12.

In the case of the first described bond the reduced end 4 pushes up into the cylindrical portion 3 of the stud so as to exert a spreading action onat least a portion of the latter. In the case of the secondly described bond, the ball-like end 8 is gforcedtowardstheportion'lsoastoexerta This neck 9 spreading action on the latter, this resulting because of the smoothly flaring shape of the neck 9 which interconnects the two. In either case the ends are forced against the bottom or end of the depression I2. I f 5 To appreciate one of the biggest features of this rail bond it must be understood that there are no practical methods now known for butt-welding a conductor to a copper terminal of a larger cross-section than the conductor, while it is posl0.

sible to butt-weld a conductor to a steel terminal of larger cross-section than the conductor. Hence it is desirable to uses. steel terminal in the 'case of rail bonds, which is natural because of the structural superiority of a butt-welded con- 15 nection as against a press-fitted or soldered connection. However, if a steel terminal is used, a steel stud must also be used if the terminal is to be an integral unit.- V

This brings up the diiflculty of expanding a 20 solid steel stud in a depression in a railroad rail by means of any conventional apparatus now usually used for rail bond installations. The present invention provides a rail bond which avoids this difllcuity, since it enables the use of ordinary 25 pressing or hammering apparatus by reason of the fact that the tendency of the stud to expand is greatly aided by the ends described.

It is to be understood that ends of other shapes may also function in the manner de- 30 scribed. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited exactly to the two shapes disclosed, except as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a railroad rail having a 35 substantially cylindrically walled depression with a'bottom formed therein, and a rail-bond stud terminal having a substantially cylindrically sided solid stud insertable in said depression, said stud integrally having an end for contactingsaid 40 bottom when said stud is inserted in said depression and a neck interconnecting said stud and said end, said neck being of less diameter than said stud and subst ntially concentric therewith, said neck being free from said bottom when said 45 end contacts the same.

2. The combination of a railroad rail having a substantially cylindrically walled depression with a bottom formed therein, and a rail bond stud terminal having a substantially cylindrically sided 50 solid stud insertable in said depression, said stud integrally having an end for contacting said bottom when said stud is inserted in said depression and a neck interconnecting said stud and said end, said neck being of less diameter than said stud and substantially concentric therewith, said 10 integrally having an end for contacting said 110m when said stud is inserted in said depression and a neck interconnecting said stud and said end, said neclr being 01. less diameter than said stud and substantially concentric therewith. said neck being free from said botton when said end contacts the same, said end being ball-shaped and of substantially the same diameter as that of said stud, and said neck flaring smoothly at its junctions with said stud and said end.

JOHN STATZ. 

